The Vacation Part 3 - Hue

After Hoi An, we headed north to Hue - a town that is known for its architecture, its historic monuments, and for the role it and the surrounding area played during the Vietnam War (or the America war, as the Vietnamese call it.)

The day we arrived in Hue marked the fifth straight day of rain for our trip, and the weather was starting to frustrate us. Everything was still fun and beautiful, but we couldn't help but think how much more so it would have been if it had not been raining constantly. We asked one guy when it was going to stop raining, and he said, "March." Turns out that this is their rainy season. Bad planning on our part, I guess.

Essentially, we only had one full day in Hue, which meant that we had to make a choice of which touristy things to do. The Minnesota contingent really wanted to check out the DMZ and the Vinh Moc tunnels, which were a few hours outside of Hue. Bergie and I felt more like checking out the monuments and sights around Hue. So, we split up.

Bergie and I arranged to be driven around to the various sights of Hue on the backs of motorbikes, and we scooted all over checking out various tombs of Vietnamese emperors. The sites were impressive and all, but for me the scooting was what made it great. We spent the morning riding through rice paddies, villages, and along the bank of the Perfume river - parts that really could have only been explored via motorbike. It was truly amazing. The only downside was that, as I mentioned before, it was raining the entire time. So, our energy levels drained quickly. And four hours into our six hour tour, we decided to call it a day. We were completely soaked and needed to go back to the room to dry off and warm up. We hooked up with the others later that evening for dinner, and that was basically it for Hue and for Vietnam.

While we had a blast in Vietnam, and would highly recommend it to anyone, I'm pretty sure we were all ready to move on to Thailand, and hopefully away from the never-ending rain. Becca seemed especially done when we were walking down the street and yet another Tuk Tuk driver offered her a ride. (Tuk Tuks in Vietnam are little one passenger cabs driven by bicycle. They are everywhere, and the drivers are constantly hassling you to take a ride.) This unsuspecting little tuk tuk driver approached Becca and asked, "You want Tuk Tuk?" Becca's eyes bulged and her face turned red and she screamed, "NOOO! I DO NOT WANT TUK TUK!" Usually, they just keep asking, but this guy could tell that this gal was not to be messed with. Clearly scared, he just turned around and walked the other way.

Next stop - Thailand.

The Vacation Part 2 (Hoi An)

Hoi An is a small little touristy town near the coast of the South China Sea - about 30 minutes from Danang, and it was our next destination after Halong Bay. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were in Hoi An, (In fact, Hoi An marked the beginning of 10 straight days of rain) but even with the rain, we still had a blast. We highly recommend Hoi An to anyone - especially if you're looking for tailor-made clothing. 2-3 days is plenty, though.

Our plan for getting to Hoi An was to arrive in Hanoi around 6 PM, grab a bite to eat, and then grab a cab to the train station where we could take the overnight train to Hoi An. This plan seemed sound enough, and likely would have worked on any other night, but this night just happened to be the night of the big soccer match between Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam won the match, and their favorite way to celebrate a big victory in soccer is to take to the streets and cruise around on the motorbikes waving flags, honking their horns and yelling. It was actually pretty cool to witness, but it also meant that no taxi would be able to drive through that mess.

The manager of the restaurant where we had dinner had a plan. He called up five of his friends and within minutes, Five Vietnamese on motorbikes showed up and were motioning for us to hop on their bikes. The plan was that we would each hop on the back of a bike with our backpacks on and these drivers would navigate through the mayhem to get us to our train on time. With my full pack, I barely fit on the back of my bike, but the craziest thing was that we had six people and only 5 bikes, so Clint and Jackie were forced to share a bike. They had Clint's big pack in front of the driver, Clint sat behind the driver, and Jackie wearing her huge pack sat in terror behind Clint. Seeing the fear in her eyes, Becca walked up to Jackie, looked her in the eyes, and said, "YOU CAN DO THIS!" And with that, we were off.

I can't really describe the ride in a way that would truly do it justice. It was terrifying as all hell, but it was als one of the most exhilirating experiences I've ever had. We were weaving in and out of traffic - almost crashing into cars and other motorbikes at every turn. It's pretty unfathomable - there doesn't seem to be any traffic laws. All cars and bikes and pedestrians are going in all directions at the same time. It seems like a recipe for disaster, but somehow it just works. Everyone just keeps moving forward, and nobody hits each other. It's nuts. We crossed through the heart of the revelers to get to the train. And we all got to the train station in time to catch our overnight ride to Hoi An.

It was Christmas Eve, and we spent it riding in a sleeper car for 13 hours. It was actually pretty comfortable as far as train rides go. The toilets were nasty as all hell - required some serious hovering skills for certain tasks, but it was a good experience. Clint still claims that the night train was the best sleep he got all trip. We arrived in Danang the next day, and from there we took a taxi to Hoi An.

We were all very excited to check out Hoi An. It is a really cute town with a great vibe, good restaurants, and hundreds of tailors where you can get custom made clothes for next to nothing. Before we could check it out, though, we needed to check into our hotel. We had reservations at the Greenfield. As soon as we walked in, you could see all three of the girls faces turn sour. The place had a weird musty smell, and the rooms weren't super clean. Clint and Jackie's room actually had some strange goo that was dripping from the ceiling. We all agreed that the hotel was nasty, so we decided to just go out and find a new place.

After looking around a bit, we stumbled upon the Vietnam Village resort. From first glance, the place looked great (to me), so we took it. After a while though, we began to notice that something was a bit off with this hotel. It turns out that the hotel was designed to be set within a mock functioning Vietnamese village. Guests could leave their hotel rooms and go down into the mock village to watch mock villagers do their mock thing. The problem was that clearly the hotel never really took off, and the mock village that had be created for the guests to visit was completely abandoned save for the two water buffalo that wandered the grounds. We asked some locals about it, and they said that the hotel initially pumped a lot of money into creating this village environment. They hired all sorts of people to be villagers. And then they came to the sad realization that travelers to Hoi An don't want to live in a Vietnamese village. They want to stay in a hotel.

Of course, we were staying in the Vietnamese Village, but because the whole operation wasn't really functioning, we felt more like we were staying in a dead hotel. It was sort of creepy and sad everywhere you looked. And while the room that Bergie and I had was decent, the others had less luck. Becca couldn't sleep in her room because she could swear that she could feel the mold spores filling her lungs. And Clint and Jackie eventually had to switch hotels because some sort of animal peed on their pillow. (Yes - PEED!!)

Aside from the lodging debacle, Hoi An was otherwise fantastic. The place seems to built entirely for tourism, but that didn't really diminish it. The buildings are neat. The place is colorful. It's just a fun place to wander. We all went to the tailors and got clothes made. We ate at some fantastic restaurants - stuffing ourselves on Pho, spring rolls, and steam boats (a spicy Vietnamese soup that is delicious). And we just walked all over town checking things out.

The tailor experience is especially funny. Every store you walk into, they immediately give you the hard sell. "You want suit? You want jacket? I make. High quality. You want Armani? No problem. I make. Same same, but different." Of course, I had never had a suit of my own, so I definitely wanted one. I picked out my fabric for the suit, the jacket lining, and the shirts, and then they began fitting me.

Juggy and I were getting fitted at the same time, which prompted them to compare us. They said, "He very tall and thin." Then they patted me on the stomach and simply said, "Happy Buddha." Now, the first time that happened it was funny. But that proceeded to happen several more times in Vietnam. Random Vietnamese would point at me or reach out and pat my stomach and say, "Happy Buddha." Now, I know I could stand to lose some weight, but damn - did they really need to walk right up to me and say, "You're fat?" At one point a random guy walked up to me and said "Happy Buddha," and I just pointed to him and replied, "Short, skinny jerk!" I doubt he understood me, but it made me feel better.

Our suits and clothes were ready the next day, and they actually looked pretty good for clothes that were created in less than 24 hours. We did have to go back several times for alterations, but after it was all said and done, we all walked away with some pretty nice stuff for a fraction of the price we'd pay in the States. Unfortunately for me, though, I somehow misplaced my garment bag with my suit somewhere in Bangkok. So even after all that, I still don't have my own suit. WEAK!

After three days of playing around in the tailor shops, we were done with Hoi An. Our final Vietnamese destination was next - Hue. (To be continued)

The Vacation - Part 1 (Hanoi and Halong Bay)

Bergie and I just finished the vacation of our lives (thus far) - 24 days, 2 countries, 7 cities, 12 different modes of transportation, and a ton of great memories. In Vietnam, we visited Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island, Hoi An, and Hue. In Thailand we went to Ko Samui, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. It was truly amazing. Over the next several blog entries, I'll try to describe the trip.

The trip began on December 22, in Hanoi, Vietnam, where we met up with our Minnesota travel buddies, Clint, Jackie, Juggy, and Becca, to begin our Southeast Asian adventure. Hanoi provided an excellent introduction to the craziness we would encounter on the trip. This town is nuts. The streets are jam packed with cars, pedicabs, and countless mopeds. There are no crosswalks. And there are very few traffic lights. So, to cross the street, you just have to take a deep breath, put yourself in front of oncoming traffic, and slowly move across the road - scary as hell at first, but the system works, the traffic avoids you, and eventually you get across the street.

That first night we crossed the street a few times for fun, grabbed dinner, and went to bed. The Minnesota crew had been traveling for more than 24 hours straight, and they urgently needed some rest. Plus, early the next day we would begin our 3-day adventure in Halong Bay.

We booked a 3-day, 2-night Halong Bay Junk Cruise, Kayaking and Cat-Ba Island adventure through Handspan Adventure Travel (Highly Recommended). A junk is a boat - it sort of looks like a pirate ship, but they are essentially small cruise boats that are used to take people like us around Halong Bay. Ours was called the Aloha Junk, and it was fantastic. The rooms were comfy and the food was great.

Halong Bay's beauty is difficult to describe - I've seen no other place like it. So, I'll include a bunch of pics. Essentially, it is a large bay that has a ton of steep limestone karsts scattered all over the place. It's stunningly beautiful - an absolute must see if you ever visit Vietnam. According to legend, the islands were created by jewels that fell from the mouths of dragons who were defending the bay from potential Chinese invasion. (Take that China). I guess it actually has something to do with shifting tectonic plates, but I like the dragon theory better.

Our Junk trip was great. Day one essentially involved transporting us to the Junk and feeding us a fantastic seafood dinner. On the second day, we went visited a small fishing village, where we all jumped in these tiny row boats and were rowed around the village by some local girls. It was pretty amazing to realize that these families lived in these tiny shacks floating on the water. Apparently, a boat from the village regularly goes to the mainland for supplies, but the vast majority of the villagers spend their entire lives living and working on the water.

After the tour of the fishing village, we went kayaking - a definite highlight of the trip for me. Seeing Halong Bay from the junk was great, but getting in the water and paddling ourselves around was truly amazing.

After Kayaking, it was time to transfer off the Junk to Cat-ba island - the biggest, and only settled island in Halong Bay. We were spending one night in a hotel on the island. We had no idea until we arrived just how nice our hotel was going to be. It was all sorts of fancy - huge rooms, right on the beach, with an amazing view from every room. The girls immediately took advantage of the hotel spa and the guys started drinking. We sort of tied one on that night, as we knew the following night was going to be a bit less luxurious (an overnight train from Hanoi to Danang).

The next day, we decided to rent motorbikes and tour the island. It was funny how different renting an automobile in Vietnam is from the States. At home, they'd want your license, and they'd have you sign some sort of waiver. In Vietnam, they take your money and hand over the keys.

I had trouble immediately. I started my motorbike, put it in gear, and proceeded to drive it into a curb and crash. Juggy, Clint, and Bergie all enjoyed that a little too much. Luckily, I wasn't hurt. I did jack my motorbike up a bit, but we quickly got it fixed, and we were off on our tour. Unfortunately, 10 minutes into our ride, I had another problem - this time I had a flat tire.

Our guidebook had warned us about this sort of thing. It said that we should beware of motorbike scams - that they will rent you a bike that will break down, and then someone will come by out of the blue to "help you," only to completely rip you off. So, when a Vietnamese man came out of nowhere to help me, I was very skeptical. He began motioning me to follow him. He kept pointing at my tire and then pointing at someplace far off in the distance, and he was trying to get me to go with him. I was skeptical, though, because he was directing me to go away from the direction of my hotel - the direction I wanted to go. But, against my better judgment, I followed him. The man guided me through a small town. As I pushed my bike down the street, the villagers would yell something at the man, he'd point at my tire and yell back, and then they'd all nod at me and point in the direction I was heading as if to say, "Yep - just keep going." I felt like they were all in on the scam, but I kept going. Eventually we reached the end of the town, and at the top of a hill, we came to a house with a sign that had an old tire on it and some Vietnamese writing that I can only assume said "Fully Licensed Tire Repair Shop."

This little mishap actually turned out to be pretty cool. While the tire repairman (and about 10 of his friends) attempted to repair my tire, a group of 15 or so school children came up to us and started practicing their English. The girls were especially fond of Juggy - one of them told him she loved him, to which he responded "No you don't." (Why won't you accept love, Juggy?) One of the boys was laying it on pretty thick with Bergie, too. His pick-up line was, "Mother, father, farmer." I'm sure if she wasn't already married, that line just might have worked.

The tire repair was proving quite the challenge, so as we waited, one of the mechanics brought out a papaya for us to eat. That act pretty much confirmed for me that we were not being scammed - that these people were genuinely being helpful. In fact, that's basically what we found throughout Vietnam. The guidebook had us scared that the Vietnamese would try to screw us every chance they got, but we never saw that. The Vietnamese were nothing but friendly and helpful. (Thailand, however - that's another story).

Eventually they fixed my tire. Apparently, I had run over a nail. With everything fixed, we drove back, returned the bikes, hopped on a ferry, and returned to Hanoi so we could begin the next leg of our adventure - Hoi An.

My Husband is Famous!

Tom was part of a photo shoot (with a makeup crew and all) for an advertisement for the university he works for. We didn't really think much of it until we were told his picture was up in the subway stations in Seoul. We made a special trip to Gondeok Station to check it out. Here's what we found:

Better Late than Never

Anyounghasayo, everyone! I know – it’s been forever since our last post, but things got busy and we got lazy and the blog suffered as a result. But let me provide a quick recap of the last 3 months.

Bergie’s Work:

Things at Bergie’s work have been going well. Some of the administrative aspects drive her a bit nuts, but she loves the teaching and loves the students. One night, a bunch of her students invited Bergie and some of her colleagues out for a night on the town. Bergie teaches at a women’s university, so I of course tagged along. It was a blast. About 20 Korean women, Bergie, some of her colleagues, and our new friends Mary and Matthew grabbed some Korean barbecue (Samgyapsal) and had some drinks. We all wore funny hats. (I was a pirate.) And after dinner, we moseyed on over to the Noraybong (Karaoke Room), and sang the night away. Karaoke here works much differently than in the States. Instead of just singing to an entire bar, your group rents a private room, and you only sing to each other. Good times, Good times.

Other than that, Bergie’s job has been smooth sailing, which is good. And she is getting some great experience in her field. She’s busy grading right now, and she essentially only has one week left to teach, and then she’ll be on vacation until February.



Tom’s Work:
My job has been going pretty well, too. I work for a university where I design and deliver fully online classes within their English program. This semester I created a course in presentation Skills and a course in idiom use. It is actually a pretty cool setup. A portion of the course each week always involves some sort of video lecture delivered by yours truly. I stand in front of a green screen while being filmed teaching the course I designed. It’s pretty funny because the final product always has some sort of interesting background behind me. So far, I’ve taught from Time Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, and from right in front of Big Ben. It’s been sweet.

The actual job itself is pretty straightforward, and I am enjoying the work. Working in Korea, however, also comes with a lot of required extra-curricular activities that just seem like bad policy. Most of the extra-curricular activities include lots of last minute meetings that you must attend and at which you must get drunk. It’s supposed to build camaraderie. And they don’t just want camaraderie between colleagues. They also want it between teachers and students.

Every university has this tradition known as MT. MT stands for Membership Training. But the fact is that Membership Training is actually not training at all. It is simply a big party where teachers and students come together to eat, drink, and sleep on the floor together - Korean Style. (Sounds like a bad idea, right?)

My MT was especially memorable because one of my colleagues, this Canadian guy, got very, very drunk and decided to start a fight with one of the students. Because I’m an old fuddy duddy, I was already asleep, but I woke up because I heard yelling, and when I stepped out to see what was happening, I found a bunch of students trying to pull my colleague and another student off of each other. I guess no punches actually got thrown, but it was pretty nuts. Turns out my colleague started it. He had decided that something the student had done was disrespectful to someone of his stature (a professor), so he told him to fuck off. The student didn’t take too kindly to that, so he told him to shove it up his ass. And that was all it took for them to want to kill each other.

The next day, after my colleague had sobered up, he asked me, “So, was I as much of a dick last night as everyone says I was?” To which I replied, “Yes. Yes you were.”

The funny thing is that there weren’t really any ramifications for what he did. Everyone just chalked it up to too much booze. Which made me ask again, “Is getting drunk with your students really a good policy?” My Korean colleagues just said that the benefits outweigh the negatives, so it looks like I’ll be back at MT next semester. I can’t wait, because I’m pretty sure that Canadian guy did not learn any lessons, so who knows what the next MT will be like?

Bergie Turns 30

She was dreading it, but her 30th birthday arrived on October 5. We had a good time. We went to dinner at this fancy little French place. It was nice to have a meal that did not include Kimchi. After dinner, we went to our favorite local bar (called the Library) where a party of Bergie’s colleagues and friends were waiting. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but because surprising Bergie is next to impossible, she knew it was coming. It was fun anyway. And for a 30 year old, she’s still effing hot.

Hudak Visits

We had our first visitor. Shannon Hudak, my long lost cousin, dropped in on us for a week. It was great to have her. Shannon and Bergie took in the DMZ. We all checked out a cool palace. We sat in a pool where little fish eat the dead skin off your body (freaky). We visited the sea of Japan, and we ate some real crappy sushi. Actually, we ate a lot of different Korean food, and it turns out that Hudak is not really a fan of Korean. I’ll admit – there is a reason why Korean is not among the world’s most popular cuisines. We also walked – a lot! We took Hudak up and down and all over this crazy town. By the end of every day, we all collapsed from exhaustion.

Unfortunately for Hudak, we’ve since stumbled upon all these cool spots in Seoul. And every time that happens we say, “Why didn’t we take Shannon HERE?” Sorry Hudak! It was great to have you anyways. And everyone else is welcome to visit, too.

X-mas in The Shit (AKA Vietnam)

We’ve locked in our holiday plans, and we couldn’t be more excited. Bergie and I are meeting our friends Juggy, Becca, Clint, and Jackie in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 21. From there, we are going on a Junk cruise (Junk is a type of boat) in the Halong Bay, then we are spending a few days touring around Hoi An, and another couple of days in Hue. After that, we’re hopping on a plane to Ko Samui to spend New Years on the beach in the Gulf of Thailand. We’re going to eat great food. We’re going to see amazing sites. And we’re going to get brand new suits tailor made for next to nothing. It is going to be AWESOME!!!

That’s basically the latest with us. We miss everyone like crazy, and we’ll try to do a better job of updating things more regularly. I have some congrats to send out:

• Meggy and Jeremy – Congrats on Theo! He’s adorable!
• Kev and V – Congrats on Linnaea! She’s wicked cute.
• Alexi and Steph – Happy 21st! When we get home, I'll let you take me out for a beer.

Hugs to all,
The Godfreys

P.S. - Check out our photos by clicking the pics links on the right. We've got a ton of new ones.

Gambe!

Before coming to Korea, I read in my travel book that drinking alcohol with your co-workers is a very important part of the business culture here in Korea. The book didn't really describe it properly. It is not just your typical happy hour and go home sort of a deal. These people are all out to get drunk - very, very drunk. And they are also out to get everyone else drunk. Needless to say, when I found myself in the middle of just such an occasion, I fit right in.

The semester at my new job just kicked off, so the President of our company wanted to celebrate with all the new faculty members so he could properly welcome us to the school. So I joined 7 other new faculty members along with some of the more seasoned professors, and we went to this Korean barbecue place. I was pretty stoked about that, because I love Korean barbecue - the tables have big grills in the middle, and they essentially bring you a plate of raw meet that you cook yourself - very fun, and very delicious. Anyway, when I sat down (on the floor), I immediately knew I was in for a bit of trouble, because every place setting had two glasses - a beer glass, and a shot glass. You all know I love my beer, but shots? Not so much.

We were all sitting around just chatting when someone ran upstairs to warn us that the President was coming. So, we all stood up to greet him properly. The president came in and greeted every person in the room. We all waited for him to then sit, then we could all sit. Once he got there, the drinking began. It started with some Maekju, which is Korean for beer. Beer here is very light - like Miller. Everyone's glass was filled with beer, the President made a toast, we all yelled "A-hi-ya" or something like that, and the dinner had begun. Quickly after the beer, the waitresses began bringing in the soju. Soju is a rice wine, and it is essentially the national drink of Korea. It tastes a bit like vodka, but it isn't quite as strong. I don't particularly care for the stuff, but somehow I find it very difficult to say no to these people.

In Korea, they are very formal about how they drink. One is never supposed to fill his own glass. If you see your neighbor's glass is empty, you should offer to fill it for him or her. This approach pretty much makes the whole event about making sure your buddies are constantly drinking. The funniest part about it is that everyone is so into it. It seemed like they all wanted to just get obliterated, and they wanted to take me along with them.

The President of the company was especially interested in making sure I was taken care of. Twice in the evening, he offered me his shot glass. At first, I wasn't sure what to do about it. I thought he was asking me to fill it up for him, but it turned out that he was asking me to take his glass and drink from it - a gesture of friendship. So I took his empty shot glass, he filled it up with soju, I shot it, and then I handed it back to him and filled it back up for him. Then he shot his. And everyone cheered.

At another point in the evening, they decided it was time to do beer bombs. Typically in Korea, a beer bomb is a glass of beer with a shot of soju in it. That was too low class for us, though, so instead they bought a bottle of 17 year old single malt scotch, and mixed that with the beers. Kind of a shame that they'd do that to scotch, but who am I to judge? Again, the President was especially interested in promoting my alcoholism. So he had them mix me up a special one, and he handed it to me. Before I drank it, he said "We have rule! You must drink! One breath! If no drink in one breath, you total failure." I know a challenge when I hear it. I slammed my beer/whiskey, and they all proclaimed me a true Korean.

I was really starting to like this President. He seemed like such a good guy. Then, this guy who was sitting next to me leaned over, pointed to the President and said to me, "He is my boss. I don't like him." He thought he was whispering, but everyone heard him and busted up laughing. One of the many dangers of soju, I guess.

So the dinner went on like this. Just when I thought things were winding down, the waitresses would bring more food and more booze. We ate and drank until about 9:30. It seemed like things were wrapping up. Everyone stood up and started making their way to the exit. I figured the evening was over. I was wrong. The drunk who publicly announced his dislike for his boss grabbed my hand and started pulling me. "Round 2!" he said. "Round 2!" After all the drinking we had done for dinner, it was more like round 15, but who's counting, really?

In round 2, everyone but the president moved to a new bar where we sat and had beers. I guess that's normal for round 2. This is the round where people can complain about work. But mostly people were just having fun. Several were getting up and making toasts. We'd all yell, "Gambe!" and throw back our drinks. I even gave a toast. That went over quite well. At the end, this one woman says, "I'm so impressed. You speak English so well." And then she just busted up laughing at herself.

We stayed there for about another hour. They tried to talk me into joining them for round 3, but I just couldn't do it. I was already completely blitzed. I had mixed beer, whiskey, and soju - i knew if I had much more, it was not going to be a pretty seen. So I backed out. I wasn't the only one, though. It looked like only the hardest of the hard core boozers made it to round 3.

All in all, it was a very cool experience. I felt a little wrecked the morning after, but I recovered soon enough. I made some new friends out of the deal. And the best part - it was all on the company dime. I think I could get used to this.

That's all for now. We miss you all!

Gambe!

Godfrey

Feelin' oh so clean

Even before arriving in Korea, I had heard about the bathhouses. In the past, and perhaps even today, many homes didn't have baths so people really used the bathhouse as a place to wash. In any case, going to the bathhouse is very much a part of Korean culture and, according to Lonely Planets, there are still over 2000 bathhouses in Seoul alone. Even the basic bathhouses have hot and cold tubs, a sauna, and offer massages and "scrub down" treatments. So, when we found our apartment I was excited to learn that Mrs. Ko, our landlady, also owned the bathhouse on the first floor of our building.

After being here for a couple of weeks, I decided that I needed to immerse myself into this Korean tradition and check out the bathhouse for myself. I went downstairs hoping Mrs. Ko would be there to help me out but she happened to be away so Mr. Ko gently pushed me into the women's side. I was a bit nervous since I had read that there were certain "rules" and an order in which things should be done.

After a quick glance around, I quickly determined that I needed to strip, seat myself down on one of the stools, and begin to wash myself. The stools were tiny and each one faced a mirror and a hand held shower hose, a sort of "personal" washing space so to speak. Women of all ages, shapes, and sizes were washing and scrubbing while chatting and laughing. As I was rinsing, Mrs. Ko showed up - yes my landlady has seen me in the buff - and asked me if I wanted a "scrub scrub". Of course I wasn't going to miss out on the best part of the bathhouse so I nodded in agreement. She told me that I should wait my turn in the hot tub to get my skin soft.

Soon enough, I was called over to the massage table and Mrs. Ko came over to talk to the "scrub scrub" lady. I assume she was telling her that it was my first time and that she should be nice to me but really, who knows. My lack of Korean language skills leaves me making up conversations quite often. And sometimes, it's perhaps better that way! Anyways, the "scrub scrub" began when the lady, who was in her undies by the way, put on her scrubbing mitts and went to town. The pile of dead skin (i.e. my summer tan) was growing high as I was flipped around on the table and scrubbed all over, I mean all over! (Shannon, are you ready for this?) The first round of scrubbing was soap free but then I had two more rounds with different soaps and then was rubbed down with lotion and oils. Along the way, I also got a short head and face massage. 45 minutes and $15 later, I felt like a whole new person. I was so clean, I squeaked, seriously. And my skin was incredibly soft. After feeling a bit grimy from sweating so much and walking around in the pollution of a big city, I felt so great!

I must admit that at first the whole experience was a bit strange and awkward. But during my "scrub scrub" I looked over and the woman next to me was getting the same treatment. I then realized that to everyone else this was all very normal and I decided that things are only as weird as you let them be. When in Rome ....

Mrs. Ko came back to check on me and see how I liked the scrub. She was so happy when I said that I would come back again. And while I'll definitely go back to her quaint little no-frills place, I'm really looking forward to going to one of the big spas that have co-ed (not co-ed naked) indoor/outdoor pools of all temperatures and stuff. Some even have fish that come and eat the dead skin cells which I hear this is gaining popularity in the US too. We'll keep you posted on that and the men's side of Mrs. Ko's bath house.

Hugs to you all,
- Bergie